Active School Flag Initiative Activities for active school week and PE The Department of Education and Skills seeks to recognise schools that strive to achieve a physically educated and physically active school community by awarding them with the Active School Flag (ASF). The ASF process requires schools to self- evaluate, examining their current provision across 15 review areas. The next step is for schools to plan and implement improvements that will enhance their PE programme and physical activity programmes and to provide greater opportunities for all members of their school community to become more active throughout the school day. To date, over 160 Active School Flags have been awarded to primary schools and this number is expected to rise significantly over the coming year. Schools across the country have come up with many innovative and exciting ways to encourage the members of their school communities to become more active. Active PE A fundamental element of the ASF process requires schools to look at the quality of their PE provision. Arising out of their self- review Ballapousta NS, Drogheda, Co. Louth decided to adopt a team teaching approach to PE in order to enhance the learning of pupils across all the strands. The teachers in St Joseph s NS, Dunderry standardised the school PE calendar across the school so that all classes are now taught the same PE strand at the same time making it easier for teachers to share ideas and resources and reducing the time that it takes to organise the equipment. The Primary School Sports Initiative (PSSI) lesson plans have been an invaluable support to teachers and schools wishing to further develop their PE programmes. The PSSI resource (available to view on the ASF website) provides sample lesson plans for each of the six primary PE strands, differentiated for each of the different class groupings.
As a result of their review of the Outdoor and Adventure strand Presentation Primary, Portarlington staff members bring their pupils off the school premises to nearby Corrig Wood where they have set up an orienteering trail. St. Martin de Porres NS, Tallaght, like many other schools, decided to teach the Land PAWS programme from Irish Water Safety to support the Aquatics strand of the PE programme. Teachers can teach the Land PAWS programme and issue IWS certificates to pupils that successfully complete the course. Land PAWS is available to download, free of charge, from the Irish Water Safety website www.iws.ie. Active Break Times A lot of playgrounds are more active these days and both principals and teachers have commented on the positive effect that this has had throughout the school. Our Lady s Abbey, Adare zoned their playground for different age groups and different activities. Senior pupils were trained to act as Playground Leaders to lead the younger classes in physical activity and to organise and referee lunchtime leagues for 2 nd to 6 th class. The highlight of the week for many pupils is Ten Minute when the whole school, including teachers, takes part in 10 minutes of continuous activity in the yard. To date, this has included line dancing, the Conga, the Birdie Song, Hula Hooping and skipping. Many schools have downloaded the HSE Playground Markings Booklet from the ASF website and borrowed the HSE Playground Marking Stencil Sets from the HSE locally to increase their playground markings at very little expense, much to the delight of their pupils. Coolard NS, Listowel, Co. Kerry developed a running circuit around the perimeter of their playground. Teachers encourage their pupils to walk/jog/run laps during their lunch breaks and to record their scores in their homework journals. Different targets are set for different class groups, in terms of distance covered and time targets, and the initiative has received a lot of parental support. St Clare s Primary School in Harold s Cross, Dublin has organised skipping workshops in its school for the past 9 years. Older children are trained to be skipping leaders for the younger pupils ensuring that the playground is a hive of activity at break times. The school organises skipping challenges (4 levels) twice a year in December and June and the successful pupils are awarded internationally recognised skipping certificates. Many schools have found the Irish Heart Foundation Bizzy Break! programme very useful for days when the weather does not permit the pupils to play outdoors or for times during the day when class energy levels need a little re- adjustment. Rainy Day Bizzy Breaks! is due to launch in November 2012. For more details visit www.irishheart.ie
Active Travel The ASF process encourages schools to promote active travel. High visibility jackets form part of the school uniform at St Clare s Primary School, Harold s Cross and over the years this has generated very high levels of active travel each day. Archbishop Ryan Senior School in Lucan record its daily active travel figures as Scores on Doors and the class with the highest score for the week earn extra PE time every Friday. Scoil Naomh Feichín, Termonfeckin, Co. Louth organised a very successful Bling your Bike parade as a fun, focus event to promote active travel while other schools organise Golden Boot awards, WOW days, Sprocket Rocket programmes (Cycling Ireland), Walk a Mile with a Smile for parents and children, bicycle checks and cycle training courses. Active School Week Active School Week (ASW) is an important element of the ASF process and, for many, the highlight of the process. Schools across the country have come up with many innovative and fun activities for the week including hulahoopathons, dance flash mobs, blanket volleyball tournaments, Nerff games, Frisbee golf, speed cup stacking and the creation of Sli na Slainte routes around their school grounds. Drimnagh Castle NS, Dublin organised a whole school Olympic Flame run as part of their ASW programme. In addition, it organised a sports intercom quiz for the entire school and even managed to get all of their 463 pupils to perform a Mexican wave, at the same time, in perfect sequence, and to music! The teachers at Scoil an Linbh Iosa, Ballycane proved very popular with their pupils when they decided to replace normal homework with 30 minutes of physical activity homework each night during ASW. A lot of schools allow staff and pupils to wear tracksuits for the duration of ASW, or organise a Jersey Day fund raiser, both of which are always well received by the pupil population. Active School Week isn t just for the pupils. The energetic teachers at St. Louis Senior Primary School, Rathmines, signed up for a 6 week course of after school aerobics classes whilst the lucky parents and teachers in other schools were treated to a session of boot camp training. There is an ASW Ideas tab on the ASF website with many more ideas, including cross- curricular opportunities and ideas for parental and community involvement. Active Parents For the last 4 years the Parents Association at Mount Anville Primary School, Stillorgan has organised the Active School Week programme. Every morning more than 450 parents, staff
and pupils gather in the yard to participate in 15 minutes of Wake Up - Warm Up exercise, led by a different person each morning. Other activities include a daily Meet and Walk group for parents and the hugely popular Family Physical Activity Picnic which attracts huge numbers and takes place in the local park on one of the ASW days after school. Active Support There is a lot of help and support available to schools wishing to work towards the Active School Flag. The ASF website www.activeschoolflag.ie contains a comprehensive listing of all the programmes and resources that are currently available to schools from their Local Sports Partnerships, National Governing Bodies of Sport, HSE, the Irish Heart Foundation and Irish Water Safety and schools are encouraged to become proactive in approaching such agencies for their help. The Professional Development Service for Teachers (PDST) and Irish Primary Physical Education Association (IPPEA) can also provide valuable help to schools. Education Presentations Information presentations about the ASF will take place in Education s nationwide during the coming months. Schools interested in working towards the ASF are strongly advised to attend. MORE DATES WILL FOLLOW SHORTLY. The presentation is free of charge and reservations should be made by contacting the Education s directly. Date Time Contact Saturday 20/10/12 PEAI Conference Four Seasons Hotel, Monaghan 9-4pm See www.peai.org Tuesday 23/10/12 8/11/12 Dublin West Education Monaghan Education 7-9.30 (01)4528000 reception@dwec.ie 7-9.30 (047) 74000 info@metc.ie Monday 12/11/12 Wednesday, 14/11/12 15/11/12 Navan Education 7-9.30 (046) 9067040 bmccabe@ecnavan.ie Sligo Education 4-6.30 (071) 9138700 info@ecsligo.ie Laois Education 7-9.30 (056) 8672400 yvonne@laoisedcentre.ie
Tuesday 20/11/12 Galway Education 7-9.30 (091) 745600 info@galwayec.ie Wednesday 21/11/12 22/11/12 Blackrock Education Drumcondra Education 7-9.30 (01)2365000 bec@blackrockec.ie 7-9.30 (01) 8576400 info@ecdrumcondra.ie For more information visit www.activeschoolflag.ie or contact the ASF office by email eolas@activeschoolflag.ie or by phone (094) 9020704. Karen Cotter, Active School Flag Co- ordinator. The ASF is based in Mayo Education and funded by the Teacher Education Section of the Department of Education and Skills.